Hamburger heaven

Dilallo Burger celebrates 80
years of patty perfection

by A.J. KINIK

I don’t think that anyone would argue that a trip to Dilallo’s flagship location in Ville-Émard amounts to a trip through time. The question is, just where does their time machine take you? And considering how long this legendary burger joint has been around, you might be surprised by the answer.

Papa Luigi Dilallo got things started right all the way back in 1929, which means that Dilallo is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. To put things in perspective, that’s three years before both Wilensky’s and Taverne Magnan, and just one year after Schwartz’s. Dilallo isn’t Montreal’s oldest restaurant (the Montreal Pool Room, for one, is rapidly approaching its centenary), but it’s right up there.

The thing is, unlike Schwartz’s and Wilensky’s, both of which hold the potential to take you back in time some 60–70 years, Dilallo’s interior is largely stuck in the 1980s. Why? Well, the Dilallos had to pick up shop in 1967 when the metro’s green line was extended into the neighbourhood. So the location dates back 40 plus years, and it seems as though the last time they renovated was at least 20 years ago. Inside, the tables and seating have all the charm of a rest stop on the 401. And out front, the Dilallo sign is in desperate need of some 80th anniversary attention—the date of its founding presently reads “1 29” and its iconic burger is missing its patty.

Given this sad state of affairs, Dilallo remains one of the city’s most significant shrines. For one thing, it has a Wall of Fame that’s in a class of its own. Dedicated principally to hockey, football and wrestling greats, Dilallo’s walls are decorated with homages to local teams like the Habs and the Als, and local heroes like Mario “Le Magnifique” Lemieux and Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon. But how many comparable Montreal institutions can you think of that pay tribute to Hank “Tony Angelo” Pardi and the infamous 1973–’74 Pussycat Ville-Émard’s all-girls hockey squad (Rraowr!)?

For another, Dilallo has been making a seriously satisfying burger for 80 years now. (Again, to put things in perspective, the North American hamburger craze was only 25-years-old at the time, and the brothers McDonald were still decades away from getting started.) Already by 1974, their pilgrims had purchased some 30 million Dilallo burgers.

In spite of this loyal following, Dilallo isn’t above R & D. Years ago, at a time when their all-dressed Special Burger still cost 60 cents, they introduced a deluxe all-dressed cheeseburger that came with pickled hot peppers and capicole. They charged $1 for it, and it became known as their Buck Burger.

The price of a Buck Burger has gone up a little since then (it now costs $3.25), but adding capicole and pickled peppers to an already fully dressed cheeseburger is just as unique (ballsy, even) as it ever was. They could probably call them Buck Wild Burgers and get away with it (although, I have to admit, I’ve always wished the capicole came fried).

The Dilallo burger—even their basic Spécial Burger ($2.65)—is an old-fashioned burger, a tall, overstuffed lettuce-tomatoes-onions-and-relish number that could drive a man to mooch. Seriously, never mind that Wimpy, Ltd. (U.K.) bollocks, this is a real J. Wellington Wimpy burger.

Unfortunately, Dilallo’s fries don’t hold up their end of the bargain. They’re fine, but if you were hoping for the Golden Age of the French fried potato and some real, homemade gravy, keep looking. And if you get excited when you get the impression that a restaurant might be sitting on some secret stash of RC Cola after all these years (as we did when we saw those very words listed on the menu), you’ll be sorry to hear that the menu’s just out of date, and that RC’s been replaced by Cott cola.

Dilallo doesn’t make any desserts, but they do offer a who’s-who of old school, burger-appropriate, Quebec-made, desserts: May West, Jos. Louis and company ($1.75).

But who am I kidding? At Dilallo, it’s all about the burgers. Always has been. Eighty years strong.